


The Problem with Marriage

by positronic



Category: Marvel 616
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Dancing, Enemies to Lovers, Hopeful Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:08:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24720577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/positronic/pseuds/positronic
Summary: There was no one Tony Stark hated more than Steve Rogers.This was a problem considering they were to be wed at the end of the year. It had something to do with “forging and alliance with the neighboring kingdoms,” as his dear father said, but frankly, Tony thought it was all preposterous.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 6
Kudos: 82
Collections: Team Angst





	The Problem with Marriage

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to MountainKestrel for the beta!

There was no one Tony Stark hated more than Steve Rogers. 

This was a problem considering they were to be wed at the end of the year. It had something to do with “forging and alliance with the neighboring kingdoms,” as his dear father said, but frankly, Tony thought it was all preposterous. 

He could see his father’s plan from a hundred yards away. The Rogers royal family was a small one, led by only Queen Sarah after her husband had passed, and her son, Prince Steven. Their kingdom was well cared for, but wasn’t as affluent as the Starks, and they did not have much in the way of protection. 

King Howard quite obviously had seen the issue with this and proposed the marriage of the two princes to forge an alliance between the two kingdoms, with the eventual plan to take over the Rogers’ family land once Anthony and Steven had been wed. 

Try as he may, Tony had yet to convince his father that this was a terrible idea.

So here he was, at yet another cursed ball where he was meant to spend time with Steven, or, rather, Steve, as he had said many times, glaring daggers into the man from across the ballroom floor. The two of them had met before, months ago now, but every single time they were forced together, it was like two cats had been shoved into a sack. There was even blood drawn, the first time. 

Currently, Steve looked the definition of regal. He was dressed in his royal coat, glittering with silver adornments against a deep blue background; the royal colors of the Rogers family were the exact opposite of those of the Starks, with their bright red and flashy gold. Steve looked so out of place against the vibrancy of the Stark grand ballroom. 

He was standing off to the side, talking with Pepper (the only member of the Stark kingdom whom he actually seemed to enjoy spending time with), and Tony couldn’t resist curling his lips into a sneer.

As if sensing Tony’s gaze on him, Steve turned, eyes scanning the crowd. Once his eyes met Tony’s, the small smile that had been on his face faded, and a sharp scowl replaced it. Even from far away, Tony could see the heat in his eyes, and he looked to be seconds away from growling. Tony just steeled his own sneer, keeping eye contact with Steve until someone grabbed his arm. 

Tony jerked his focus away from Steve and looked down to where his mother, Queen Maria, was now standing next to him, frowning.

“I really wish the two of you would get along, Tony,” she whispered, voice quiet as to not let anyone overhear. Her hands were holding onto Tony’s arm gently, and Tony sighed, feeling some of the tension leave his body at the contact. 

“I know, mother,” Tony said, placing one of his hands on hers. “I wish things were different too.”

Maria turned to look up at Tony, searching his eyes for a moment before she sighed softly and stepped away from him. She looked back out into the crowd then over to where King Howard was sitting at the end of the ballroom. 

“Go have one dance with him. Then I will make excuses for you to leave for the evening, and we will once again have time to try and think of a plan before they return,” she said, giving Tony a sad smile before she left to go sit next to Howard. 

Tony watched her go, sorrow and dread pooling in his gut. Maria had known since King Howard had decided on the marriage that this was something Tony didn’t want. She had confessed to Tony that she had tried to change Howard’s mind when it was only an idea, and ever since she had done her best to convince Howard to end it to no avail. 

It was all wearing on her, having to field the drama between Tony and Howard, and once again Tony felt his hatred for Steve flare up, filling his veins with fire. Curse Steve and his wretched existence. Without him, none of this would be happening, and Tony could go back to messing around in the forgery all day.

Tony took a deep breath, trying to cease the shaking of his hands, his whole body near vibrating with tension, and looked back to where Steve had been. Only, Steve wasn’t where he had been when Tony first noticed him; now, he was stalking across the dancefloor, slinking through the crowd with his eyes trained on Tony. 

Tony stared back, willing himself not to panic as Steve walked up to him and grabbed his wrist, pulling him across the room. Steve’s grip was tight, and Tony was convinced he could feel the searing heat through the fabric of his coat. Tony yanked his hand out of Steve’s and stopped moving to glare at him despite the fact that they were in the middle of the dance floor. 

“Hands off the merchandise, darling,” Tony ground out. Steve rolled his eyes but Tony could see the tension in his jaw. At least they were mutually pissed off. That was more fun than just Tony being the angry one. 

“We have to dance together once before we can both get out of here,” Steve said, keeping his voice as quiet as possible to make sure no one overheard. “God knows I don’t want to be here longer than I have to,” he added, and Tony had to fight the urge to curl his lips up into a snarl. 

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with,” Tony said, grabbing Steve’s hand and pulling him into an embrace. 

Even with their boots they were about the same size, so Tony took the initiative before Steve could react, leading him in a dance. He nudged Steve’s arms to loop around his neck, letting his own hands fall to Steve’s waist. Steve caught on and clasped his hands together but didn’t meet Tony’s eyes, instead letting his gaze fall to the right of Tony’s head, looking at something over his shoulder. Tony schooled his expression into a gentle smile, purely to keep up appearances, but he knew his eyes told another story.

“Why couldn’t I lead?” Steve asked under his breath, and Tony couldn’t help but let out a genuine laugh. Steve snapped his eyes to Tony’s at the sound, surprised.

“‘Cause I said so, that’s why,” Tony replied, smirking, and Steve’s lips twitched like he wanted to smile but forced his expression to remain neutral. 

“Fine,” he said and sighed heavily. “Then I don’t want to look at you while we dance.” He then looped his arms a little more around Tony and pulled him closer, resting his head on his own arm and looking down between them.

Tony froze minutely at the contact, feeling Steve’s hair brush against his jaw, but sunk into it, taking his hands off Steve’s hips and wrapping his arms around Steve’s waist instead. As much as he wanted to reply with something snarky, he had to admit that the contact was… almost nice. 

Not that he’d ever admit that to Steve in a million years. 

The two of them stayed like that throughout the whole song, quietly swaying. The tension that had been filling them both seemed to fade as they danced, just letting themselves sink into the motions. As the song came to an end, Steve slowly pulled away, and Tony let him, dropping his arms from Steve’s waist. 

Their eyes met once again, and Tony swallowed thickly. Something seemed to have changed between them, and Tony had no idea how to interpret it all. Steve just stared at him for a moment before his gaze fell to Tony’s lips for a split second, but Tony noticed, feeling his face flush under the scrutiny. 

“That was nice,” Steve said, though the pitch hitched up at the end, almost like he was phrasing it as a question. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, although it seemed to be directed more at himself, and Tony couldn’t help being glad that he wasn’t the only one confused. 

“It… it was,” Tony responded, voice quiet. His heart was pounding in his chest despite the calm exterior, and he couldn’t bring himself to back away further from Steve.

That response seemed to shock Steve as his eyes widened, and he couldn’t stop his lips from forming into a small smile, almost like he was pleased. Tony returned the smile and gave Steve a small bow before turning and heading out of the hall, ignoring the round of applause that erupted from the crowd behind him at their display.

Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the SteveTony games!  
> Square: Dancing  
> Team: Angst  
> Bonus Prompts: royalty AU + enemies to lovers


End file.
